Privacy in the 21st century
by mama rocks
Summary: How does Ianto punish Jack for reading his diary at the end of 'Adam? What will it take for him to forgive? Fluff and romance.


Ianto knocked on Jack's office door and waited until he shouted before entering. Jack looked up at him and tried a hopeful smile. Ianto merely placed his coffee on the table and turned to leave.

'Ianto, how much longer are you going to punish me? asked Jack.

'Until you are actually sorry sir' replied Ianto.

He left the office and Jack frowned. Jack was becoming seriously worried now, it had been five days since he had let on that he had read Ianto's diary and he had been suffering for every second since then.

Ianto was still performing all his duties with his usual efficiency, but Jack was definitely suffering. There had been no physical contact between the two men since the incident and Jack was starting to get slightly desperate. This was not helped by the fact that Ianto was wearing all the clothes Jack loved to see him in, and was definitely bending over more.....in fact constantly.

He had even taken to eating bananas for breakfast. Jack had never known him to eat bananas before. But now he ate one every morning and really took his time over it, sensuously peeling back the skin and raising delicate eyes to glance at Jack as he slowly thrust the fruit into his mouth and bit down. Jack had almost wept when he ate one that morning.

But it wasn't just the sexual frustration. Ianto would not let him hug or kiss him, would not spend time talking to him, would not stay after the others left, would not pick up his dry cleaning and Jack was almost certain he was serving him decaff.

Jack needed to figure out how to apologise to Ianto's satisfaction. He watched Ianto leave for the archives and went out to join the rest of his team.

He wandered over to the two girls hoping to get some advice without involving Owen.

'What's the best way to apologise for being a prat?' he asked with false joviality.

All three team mates looked up at him and smiled.

'What did you do to upset the teaboy Harkness?' laughed Owen ruining Jack's hopes of leaving him out of the conversation.

Jack's smile collapsed, they all knew.

'Oh come on Jack, we have eyes. Ianto is very discreet but we've seen how he has not let you touch him the last few days. No hugs, no kisses, no surreptitious gropes when you think we can't see you' laughed Gwen.

Jack frowned, this might be amusing to the team but it was fast loosing appeal to him.

'This is killing me' he said desperately, 'you have to help me....please!!' he begged.

Toshiko sighed.

'What did you do Jack? Let's think how we can solve this' she stated approaching the problem logically.

'I read his diary' admitted Jack.

'What!!' all three shouted together.

'It is too girly to be entirely normal that teaboy should keep a diary, but that you should think it ok to read it........I mean do you know anything about human beings?' asked Owen.

'Is it that bad?' asked Jack genuinely puzzled.

'Of course it is Jack. It would be like looking through a woman's handbag' insisted Gwen.

'Are we not supposed to do that either?' asked Jack.

Both girls looked shocked and glanced at their bags nervously.

'Relax girls' said Jack with a sly grin 'I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing, I know a woman's handbag is sacrosanct'

'Then why didn't you have the same respect for Ianto' Toshiko asked.

'Because it wasn't a handbag I looked at and he's not a girl, and the diary hardly told me anything I didn't already know.....he shouldn't have secrets.......not from me' said Jack becoming a little sulky as he began to see their point.

'That's hardly the point.....it's a breach of trust' said Gwen.

'Don't be ridiculous, everyone has secrets' said Toshiko.

'Would you let any of us read it?' asked Owen.

'No!' said Jack.

'Well then' announced Owen as if his point was self explanatory.

'How do I fix it?' asked Jack 'I want to make him feel better, I want to say sorry....I miss him' he continued.

The girls both said 'arrh' sympathetically but could offer no real solution to his dilemma. Owen studied him for a moment.

'You'll have to offer something in return' he announced.

Jack looked at him interested.

'What do you mean?' he asked.

'Well you've looked into his secrets, offer him one of yours in return' he said.

The girls looked at him in surprise.

'That actually might work' said Gwen.

'At least it can't hurt, and he would know you were serious' said Toshiko.

Jack was suddenly lost deep in thought. He looked up at Owen and nodded, and took himself off to find Ianto in the archives.

'Do you think it will work?' asked Gwen.

'Hope so' said Toshiko 'I don't like to see Ianto upset'

'And none of us like to work with a frustrated Jack' laughed Owen.

The girls smiled and they all returned to work.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack joined Ianto in the archives. He found the young man with files on the floor as he attempted to get them into some semblance of order. He smiled softly at his lover enjoying Ianto's need for order and the way he tried to impose it upon Torchwood, and sometimes upon him.

'Ianto' he said softly.

Ianto looked up.

'Yes sir?' he asked.

'Ianto....I'm sorry...truly...please talk to me properly' he grinned 'we can talk about how you want to punish me' he offered cheekily.

Ianto half smiled at him.

'Ok Jack......let's talk' he conceded.

'Ianto if I had realised the diary was that important to you I would not have read it' he tried.

Ianto merely looked at him.

'How could you not know Jack? Do you not have the concept of privacy in your time?' he asked.

'Yes' said Jack 'but I didn't read anything I didn't already know....there were no big secrets' he insisted.

'How can you say that Jack? A lot of it was work related, but with your ego you don't seriously expect me to believe you didn't read the stuff about yourself' said Ianto.

'But even that was stuff I already knew....things we'd said and done' Jack leered.

'Yeess' said Ianto 'but I also wrote about how I felt about you....that wasn't stuff you already knew'

Jack looked at him with a slight frown.

'Yes Ianto....it is stuff I already know...how could I not know how you feel about me?...you show me every day' he said confused.

'But I've never told you' insisted Ianto 'so how could you know?'

'51st century insight?' tried Jack.

'It's a shame that insight didn't tell you that 21st century people don't like their privacy intruded upon' sighed Ianto.

'I'm sorry' said Jack again. 'Owen suggested I should offer you one of my secrets in return for reading yours. Would that work? Would that make you feel better? I'll do anything to make you feel better' pleaded Jack.

Ianto looked at him. This was an interesting development. He didn't enjoy being annoyed with Jack and wanted it to be over, but he needed the other man to realise that some lines were not to be stepped over. He thought Jack had understood this message now and Ianto was eager to renew their relationship, and there were so many things he wanted to know about his enigmatic lover.

'Ok' he said tentatively 'but if I only get one question I need time to think of the best one to ask'

Jack grinned, thank God it looked as if this might work he thought.

'If I answer your question will you forgive me?' he asked.

'Do I get to ask anything at all?' asked Ianto.

'Yes' replied Jack.

'Then yes...I think I might forgive you' smiled Ianto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back in the main hub, as Ianto provided the team with after lunch drinks Owen asked him if Jack had offered his secrets.

'Yes Owen he has......any ideas what I should ask him' said Ianto with a smile on his face.

'Oh I have lots of ideas. Mostly I want to know how he gets every woman he meets to want to drop her knickers for him....I could really make use of that sort of information' replied Owen cheekily.

Ianto rolled his eyes, that was typical Owen, Gwen tutted and Toshiko looked away a little sadly.

'Girls?' asked Ianto 'any ideas?'

'Ask him where he went' said Gwen.

Ianto frowned, he knew something of what had happened to Jack when he left them and he would not raise that painful topic with his lover unless necessary, but the rest of the team were still in the dark and he understood their curiosity.

'Ask if humans ever establish friendly relations with other races' said Toshiko 'we only ever get to see the down side' she shrugged as the others looked at her 'I'd like to know that's not all there is'

'Hmmm' considered Ianto.

He was going to have to decide for himself. They all had things they wanted to know, and they all had reasons, but this was Ianto's choice. He wandered away pondering to himself.

Later that night the others wound up their work and made preparations to leave.

'See you all tomorrow' shouted Gwen as she made for the door.

'Bye Ianto' called Toshiko as she followed seconds later.

'Use your question wisely teaboy...may the force be with you' laughed Owen as he grabbed his jacket and ran from the hub.

Ianto made his way to Jack's office. He had decided what question to ask. He was slightly nervous about the answer he would receive but determined to ask it. He knocked and walked over to his captain, looking forward to leaving the hub in his company tonight.

Jack wound his fingers around Ianto's neck and drew the younger man to him for a kiss.

'Have you decided what you want to ask me yet?' he questioned.

Ianto found it hard to think as he kissed his captain and felt the other man grind his erection into his thigh. He broke away from the kiss.

'Yes' he whispered.

Jack looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

'I hope it's a good question Ianto Jones, you've certainly given it a lot of thought, and I know you've had a lot of suggestions from the others. They DO NOT get to hear the answer though ok?' he said.

'Ok' agreed Ianto.

Ianto indicated they should sit, and they did so. He took hold of Jack's hands, took a deep breath and asked.

'Do you love me?'

Jack was shocked. He had expected to be asked where he came from, what time, where he had disappeared to for months, how old he was and any amount of other questions along the same lines. He had not expected something this personal.

'Why are you asking Ianto? You could ask anything and I promised an answer. The rest of the team have been bothering you all day with things they want to know, and you must want to know things too. So why this question?' asked Jack in surprise.

'There are lots of things I don't know about you sir, and lots of things I want to know, but this is what I want to know most' said Ianto.

He looked at Jack earnestly and told him.

'If your answer to this question is yes, then the answers to the other questions don't matter. If your answer is no, then I don't have the right to ask them in the first place' he explained.

Jack smiled at him in understanding. In the midst of all his own desperate need to know, Ianto respected Jack's need to keep some things for himself, until he was ready.

'Then I guess the other questions and answers don't matter' he said leaning in for a kiss.

Ianto backed away.

'You didn't answer my question sir' he said gently but firmly.

Jack hesitated, Ianto obviously wanted him to say the words, to answer his question properly.

'Yes Ianto. Yes I love you' he said.

Ianto's breath hitched slightly and he looked down at his hands unsure how to react.

'Ianto? is that ok?' asked Jack 'I thought you already knew how I felt'

'I thought....I didn't know' replied Ianto 'you said you knew how I felt...51st century intuition..I'm from the 21st century Jack...I need to be told..to hear the words'

'I should have realised Ianto..I'm sorry..I will tell you I love you every day for the rest of your life...I promise' whispered Jack.

Ianto looked into his lover's eyes, he knew without doubt now that he would hear those words every day. Privacy was the second thing Ianto had taught Jack about. The first was to always keep his promises.


End file.
